Creede Community Church, UCC
Pastor: Sarah B. Linn
Rev. Dr. Sarah B. Linn has nearly 20 years of experience in international Christian relief and development in over a dozen countries. From 2003-2009, she lived and worked in the Republic of Yemen, studying Arabic and starting a network of adult education centers.
After returning from Yemen, Sarah was ordained by the Presbyterian Church (USA). She has been part of Creede Community Church since 2017.
In addition to earlier degrees (a BA in English Literature and MA in Higher Ed Administration/Student Development from Bowling Green State University), Sarah received her M.Div from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California and her Doctor of Ministry degree from Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Wed. Word - Sep. 6
I am not interested in a personal gospel or a social gospel.
I want one gospel which lays its hand on all of life,
personal and social, and controls and redeems it.
-- E. Stanley Jones
The Lectionary text for this Sunday is Romans 13:8-14, but we’re reading from verse 1 for context. The writer of Romans makes two moves in this chapter. First, the two halves of the chapter provide an analogy between our response to human authority versus God’s authority. We respect human government as a matter of course, by honoring public officials and paying taxes*. How much more should we honor God’s rulership over our lives?
How do we give the full measure of honor that God deserves? Here’s the second move: Just as we pay the taxes we “owe” to the empire (v. 7), as followers of Jesus, we are called (v. 8) to “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another.” In other words, we honor God’s authority over the whole of our lives by honoring our neighbors. When we love our neighbor, we fulfill the law – both human and divine. And we live in the light with nothing to fear, either from human government or God’s.
See you on Sunday,
Sarah
* If you’re frustrated with our system of government, imagine living under the military occupation of the Roman Empire!
P. S. Listen to recent sermons right here.